Thanks for posting this morganannie. We went up to GR last weekend to view another soon-to-be GR art happening, and spent a few hours slogging through the crowds & having an overall good time at ArtPrize. I kept thinking about making an FPP, but I just couldn't square the overall vibe (positive) with the democratization of art jury that is the ArtPrize. I honestly have not read up on a lot of it, so ultimately, I just hoped someone else would post.

I am one of the 34000 registered to vote.posted by beelzbubba at 11:44 AM on September 29, 2010

Ran Ortner lucked out considering his art was a $250,000 phone bill.posted by wcfields at 11:50 AM on September 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wow, so much cool work! Thanks, morganannie!posted by clockzero at 12:50 PM on September 29, 2010

The accompanying story is also interesting, and brings his art to life (for me):

"Explores man's relationship to the earth. Think of this sculpture as a clock. At the 12:00 hour is bird life, representing the sky. At 3:00 and 9:00 are mammals, representing the land. Working downwards toward the 6:00 hour, through reptiles, amphibians, fish and crustaceans we arrive at the sea turtle that represents the oceans. Man's position is the timepiece, holding the fate of the planet in his hand.”posted by Wolfster at 3:29 PM on September 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

It's pretty cool stuff, especially for the west side of the state. My ma, dad and I are all doing stuff for another art thing in GR pretty soon (end of Oct.) so it's cool to think of GR as being an art destination.posted by klangklangston at 10:43 PM on September 29, 2010

To me, the best part is watching art of all flavors spring from the ground over the course of 2 weeks. Downtown GR has transformed from pleasant to bustling and visually arresting. Too cool. Top ten are announced tonight!

Last year, my friend's older brother brought his Big Red Ball to Grand Rapids. It didn't win, or even make the Top 10, but it apparently made some impact on the city. One of the comments that Kurt and his brother heard was that ArtPrize brought as many people downtown as when Gerald Ford was running for President in 1976--apocryphal, yeah, but somewhat telling about the positive effect this contest is having on Grand Rapids.posted by stannate at 4:03 PM on September 30, 2010

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